Issue 159
Issue 159 is the one-hundred and fifty-ninth issue of Image Comics' The Walking Dead and the third part of Volume 27: The Whisperer War. It was published on October 5th, 2016. Plot Beta tells Negan that he is the one that Beta wants. Negan tells him he is flattered before attacking him with his gun. They fight and Beta begins to gain the upper hand. Dwight is on the ground struggling to fight off a roamer and calls out to Negan before throwing Lucille to him. While the rest of the Militia fight off the Whisperers and the roamers, Negan proceeds to beat Beta with Lucille. He beats Beta repeatedly in the back until Lucille suddenly breaks in Negan's hands. He furiously blames Beta. Negan is then attacked by roamers and the Whisperers, as two of them drag Beta to safety. The Militia continues to battle until all of the remaining Whisperers and roamers have been killed or retreated. Dwight tells Negan to pull himself together as he reels over Lucille. Michonne points out that there are more in the woods, and a large army of Whisperers and roamers emerge. In the woods, the two Whisperers who saved Beta stop to rest. Seeing Beta seemingly unconscious, they begin to discuss that nobody has ever seen his face. One of them goes to remove Beta's mask, but Beta stabs him in the head, saying "No one… sees my…" before passing out. As the new herd continues to advance towards the Militia, Dwight, Laura, and Negan argue about how to proceed. Michonne asks Dwight what his plan is. He suggests the Militia divide and conquer by splitting up and luring parts of the herd in different directions, keeping their distance and picking off as many roamers and Whisperers as they can. The groups led by Michonne - going west, Jesus - going east, and Magna - going north, will take the long way back to the fallback point. Dwight will take the remainder and head directly there. He says that once the group has divided, he has "an idea." At the Hilltop, Carl and Lydia are discussing the Whisperers. Carl accuses her of trying to scare him, and Lydia tells him that he should be scared. She says the Whisperers have no purpose other than to exist and that they will not hesitate to kill or die for Alpha; that they're not living, so they have nothing to lose. Lydia says she's seen what they've done to other groups and that "it won't be pretty." Carl tells her that no group is as large, organized, or strong as theirs. She counters by telling him they have the same weakness that the other groups did: they care. She tells Carl she appreciates everything he has done but that he is too young for her and she doesn't love him. Carl says she is just saying that so he won't get upset if something bad happens to her, but she tells him it's the truth and apologizes as she leaves him at the lookout post alone. Vincent is on his way back from the Sanctuary. Eugene helps the ammo team with production as Maggie runs into Aaron and asks why he isn't on bed rest. He tells her his stitches are holding and he feels better, plus he knows what's going on and doesn't want to be comfortable in bed. He asks her not to tell Doctor Carson, and she promises to keep it between them. At Alexandria, Andrea finds Rick looking over some maps. He explains he is trying to find an advantage they can use against the Whisperers and wants to be of some use. Andrea tells him he will feel silly when Dwight returns and tells him it is all over, but he tells her he will be thrilled. At the Sanctuary, Tara is about to climb on a horse when John asks her what she is doing. She explains that Sherry is worried they are turning Rick against them, and John thinks that's what they wanted. Tara reasons that Sherry is just being smart. Dante asks Brianna if she has seen Maggie. She tells him he should tell Maggie how he feels. Sophia is watching Carl at the lookout post when another boy asks her if she is coming for dinner. She tells him she is right behind him, while continuing to watch Carl. At the Kingdom, Zachary is eating when his chair is pulled backwards, and William holds a knife to his throat. He tells Zachary the reason they sent their men out is because if Rick's group fails, the Whisperers will come for them next. He tells Zachary that he will do anything for the Kingdom, including killing him. He concludes by warning Zachary to never threaten him again. Back on the front lines, the Whisperers have noticed that the Militia has split them up. They decide to stick to the plan, and as one of them makes his way towards the edge, he is shot through the head with an arrow. Dwight drags his body into the woods and removes his skin mask before putting it over his own face. Credits *Rick Grimes *Carl Grimes *Andrea Grimes *Sophia *Maggie Greene *Michonne Hawthorne *Eugene Porter *Aaron *Paul Monroe *Brianna *Dwight *Negan *Tara *John *Magna *Kelly *Yumiko *Dante *Lydia *Vincent *Laura *Beta *William *Zachary *The Militia *The Whisperers *Gabriel Stokes (Cover) *Heath (Cover) *Paula (Cover) *Connie (Cover) *Marco (Cover) Deaths *At least 3 unnamed Whisperers *At least 1 unnamed member of the Militia Trivia *Last appearance of Negan's signature weapon: Lucille. *Gabriel Stokes appears on this cover, even though he was killed in Issue 158. This is the third time a character was shown on a cover despite being killed off in the previous issue(s). *Negan's many taunts to Beta in regards to Lucille are all various references to pop culture. **The line, "This is my '''Excalibur!", is a reference to the sword of the same name, wielded by King Arthur **The line, "My flashing invincibility star!", is a reference to the power-up from the Super Mario Bros. series of games, in which touching a super star grants the player invulnerability for a short period of time. **The line, "''My can of '''motherfucking spinach!", is a reference to the cartoon ''Popeye, where the title character eats an entire can of spinach in order to become stronger in a moment's notice. *This issue marks Andrea's 125th appearance. Goofs/Errors *In the Whisperer that Dwight killed, the arrow hole disappears when Dwight puts the mask on. References Category:Media and Merchandise